To all:Coming to Phoenix and the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in March can be a real treat if you are from the northern part of the United States.This year was no exception with temperatures in the mid to high 80s.For the practice day the wind was dead calm giving everyone a chance to check their sight settings and mechanical zeros.Come Thursday morning and the first day of the Creedmoor Cup all changed.The morning was a little chilly but the wind was howling out of the north and with it right in your face vision was a real problem. We all hoped, as the day warmed up, that would change and the wind would subside but no such luck. As always, when the conditions are tough the top shooters are as well and the top three shooters for day one of the Cup were no surprise, with Dave Gullo on top followed by Zack Taylor and Dan Theodore who was right in there with his 38-70. Shooting as well as he did on Thursday with a .38 once again proves that if everything is correct the small calibers are just as competitive as the big boomers.Friday wasn’t as windy but what was there was really challenging with direction and velocity changes faster than most could keep up with. This time it was past champ Eron Ahmer’s chance to shine by leading the pack with an outstanding 264-3X.What counts though is the aggregate and again this year it was Dave Gullo that turned in the top two day scores to become the 2015 Creedmoor Cup Champion. The awards for the Cup were handed out at the steak fry following Friday’s match and after enjoying the dinner we had the drawing for prizes donated by the manufacturers that support Black Powder Target Rifle.This year Klaus Schattleitner took on the job of sending requests for contributions and the response was outstanding. Thanks Klaus for a job well done!I’ll list the contributors at the end of this report and since every competitor received more than one prize, please take the time to email or write them and thank them for their support.It was reported that our NRA Director for Black Powder Target Rifle, Barry Ranney, was seen observing the Cup from a distance on Friday. We all anticipated that for the first time in ten years we would have an NRA referee in attendance for the Regional Creedmoor Match on Saturday. The competitors were really looking forward to meeting him and to discuss the future of Black Powder Target Rifle. Saturday the slate was cleaned and everyone had a partner to help decipher the tricky Ben Avery springtime winds.It was past Creedmoor Cup winner Zack Taylor’s turn to shine and with the help of his spotter, Eron Ahmer, Zack easily won the match with a nice 259-4X.Although a ways back Dave Gullo was second followed by Chip Mate shooting his 44-77 Shiloh.About two hours into the match I was introduced to our NRA referee Barry Ranney who briefly stopped by to get some insight on our Regional match. He asked what our Sunday program would be and if the awards were to follow the Sunday match. I was again hoping he would spend some time with us after the match and give the competitors a chance to get some insight to the problems they have experienced at the Black Powder Target Rifle National Matches. After having a few words with a couple of shooters he knew he left the range for the day. Maybe Sunday after the final match we would get a chance to speak with him.Sunday it looked like we were going to get some relief from the wind but that didn’t last long. This time instead of being strong the winds were pretty light but still some of us could not get a handle on the changes.Changes were not a problem for Dave Gullo as he took the win with help from his more than capable spotter John Venhous. Second and third place was a tie between partners Eron Ahmer and Zack Taylor.Again it’s the aggregate score that wins all the marbles and it was Dave Gullo who doubled up with the Creedmoor Cup and Regional wins.The second and third place trophies were clinched by Zack Taylor and Mississippi’s “dead eye” doctor, Keith Lay Jr.

All four days of shooting went very smooth thanks to the outstanding job of calling the match by our Canuck friend Paul Lawrence and I personally want to give him a “Hi-Five” for a job well done!The conditions that prevailed at Ben Avery for our Creedmoor matches were as tough as you will find on any range in the USA. All those that attended should be proud to say they competed in the 2015 Arizona Winter Nationals regardless of their scores. The question that still remains with me is why, when the NRA complains about the availability of funds to support Black Powder Target Rifle, they would go to the expense to send the BPTR Director all the way to Phoenix, AZ. and only have him spend less than one hour at the match? The NASCAR races were in town so maybe he took advantage of the paid trip for him to attend a NASCAR race! Hope he learned something about NASCAR racing because he sure missed a good chance to learn something about a great Regional Creedmoor match.Thank you all for attending and I’ll see you next year.Steve Rhoades Match Director